Photos: Hideaway Kitchen + Bar opens in Genesee

Hideaway Kitchen + Bar may be tucked in an out-of-the-way location in Genesee, behind the Chart House, but locals have had no trouble finding it since it opened on November 1. "It's going really well, with no promotion at all," says executive chef Michael Powers. And he expects things to go even better as more people discover the spot -- a good place to wait out I-70 traffic on ski days, he points out -- and they add such amenities as a four-season patio. And next summer? Look for family entertainment and music in the outdoor amphitheater.

But in the meantime, there's a fire outside every evening, the perfect excuse to order the $5 all-you-can-eat s'mores.

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Powers had his job interview out by that amphitheater, and it plays to one of his strengths; in addition to being a trained chef, he's also booked talent around town. But he was eager to return to his culinary roots, and the Hideaway seemed a perfect place to do it. Although he lives in Denver, the drive up to Genesee has also taken him back to the years he lived in the mountains. "It's Boulder west of Denver," he explains. That's the demographics."

And they've created a restaurant that fits those demographics, gutting the space that held the Genesee Towne Cafe, a German restaurant, for more than two decades, and rebuilding it into a comfortable hideaway. A hideaway, by the way, that is not related to the Hideaway Steakhouse in Westminster, although Powers says people frequently ask about that.

The menu at this Hideaway is expansive, focusing on "world comfort food with no boundaries." In order to encourage locals to keep returning,they plan to keep the menu fresh, and change it three to five times a year. "We have some talent here," Powers says of the kitchen crew. "I think it's going to show."

For now, the Hideaway kitchen is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, with the bar open until 11 p.m., and from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday through Saturday.